Highland battle tough conditions for victory

IN atrocious playing conditions Highland eventually mastered the weather and then the opposition to record a well-earned 49-0 victory over Moray at Canal Park.

The home side had to make some squad changes due to niggling injuries and work commitments hitting the back division.

It was apparent before the kick-off that the muddy pitch and driving rain were going to be a great leveller. And from the start this is just what happened as both sets of players slipped and fumbled their way through the first 20 minutes.

With the sides toiling to enforce some control, Highland were looking vulnerable to a loose ball kicked through. A couple of short kicks were easily dealt with but a long hack into Highland’s 22 saw the threat by the chasing Moray backs averted by Laurie Cuthbertson’s superb covering.

It took 20 minutes before a pattern emerged from the muddy exchanges as Highland gradually began to master the handling which initially cut out the threat of Moray kicking on. With the control came pressure on the Moray line which resulted in Craig Findlater touching down in the corner.

The handling continued to improve and more scores came, with tries from Cuthbertson and Paddy Bryden, followed by a second from Findlater. Scott Fraser tried hard against the wind and rain but got only one conversion, which meant a 22-0 lead for the home side at the break.

After the break Highland were now fully in control as they were able to keep the ball and protect it, with the forwards putting in a lot of hard work. And having the wind in their favour meant Highland were able to chip over the Moray line to make the pressure pile up.

Ben Gordon benefitted from some fine scrummaging to score before a nice move, started in the home half, eventually saw Findlater race out and neatly pop the ball to Richard Sim in support who scored in the corner.

Moray battled on and didn’t let up but they were now simply outclassed as Highland ran in another three tries, a second from Cuthbertson and one apiece for Craig Irvine and Stephen Murray for a final score of 49-0.

Coach Dave Carson was very pleased with his squad’s performance in the conditions and how they improved as the game went on. The securing and clearing out at rucks was especially good and it bodes well for the last league game of 2013 at Banff.

Inverness Craig Dunain also battled the elements at Canal Park which saw them fight out a 17-6 victory over Dyce. The home side also had to play most of the match with 14 men after Richard Jessiman was shown a red card after only a few plays.

Craig Dunain scored tries through Nals Soqeta and Rupeni Rokoduguni (2), with skipper Ian Weafer adding a conversion. Weafer was very pleased by how his side dug in so well to secure the win and they finish the year on a morale boosting high.

Ladies’ team member Stephanie Campbell was successful in her trial for the Scotland under-20 team. This is a tremendous achievement for Stephanie and for all those involved in bringing back the ladies team, especially coach Alan Coyne.